The Olympique Lyonnais logo is one of the most recognized football crests in France. It belongs to the Ligue 1 club from Lyon, founded in 1950 when its football section split from Lyon Olympique Universitaire (LOU). The badge centers on a rampant lion taken from Lyon’s coat of arms, paired with the club’s “OL” initials inside a shield.
Football club branding has changed a lot over the past few decades. Clubs used to put a city crest on a shirt and call it a day. Now badge updates need to work across jerseys, apps, stadium signage and social feeds. Lyon’s crest sits right in the middle of that shift. It has kept its heraldic roots while adapting to screens.
The current version of the Olympique Lyonnais logo was revealed on 1 July 2022, a lighter update of the 2006 crest made by a Paris agency that has not been named publicly. The club has used about a dozen logo versions since 1950. The crest uses red, blue, white and gold, and the lion has appeared in almost every version.
What Is the Olympique Lyonnais Logo?
The Olympique Lyonnais logo is a gold-bordered shield with “OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS” in white on a red band and a blue field holding a white “O” with a gold rampant lion beside a white “L”. The current version, a refresh of the 2006 crest by an unnamed Paris agency, was revealed on 1 July 2022.
| Symbol | Gold rampant lion inside a white “O”, next to a white “L”, on a red and blue shield |
| Designer/agency | A Paris agency (not publicly named) |
| Current version since | 1 July 2022 |
| Colors (hex) | Red approx. #F70044, blue approx. #0F23AA, gold approx. #C88C28, white #FFFFFF (sampled from the current logo) |
| Typeface | Modern geometric sans-serif capitals; the exact typeface has not been confirmed by the club |
| Previous major version | 2006–2022 crest: darker blue and red, gold outlines around the letters and fields |
The crest is a combination mark: a shield, a pictorial lion and typographic initials working as one symbol and wordmark. Lyon plays at the Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu, its home since January 2016, and Michele Kang has been club president since June 2025.
How Has the Olympique Lyonnais Logo Evolved Over Time?
The Olympique Lyonnais crest has been redesigned about a dozen times since 1950. Early versions borrowed directly from Lyon’s coat of arms. The late 1970s brought designs without a shield, 1989 brought a lion-free “OL” badge, and the lion returned in a shield in 1996 before refinements in 2000, 2006 and 2022.
Here is how each era looked, with the years for each old Lyon logo.
Original Olympique Lyonnais Logo (1950–1957)
The first badge was a shield with a blue frame. The upper white band held blue “O” and “L” letters. The lower red section showed a white rampant lion.
It borrowed almost directly from Lyon’s coat of arms, which shows a silver lion on red under a blue band with three gold fleurs-de-lis. The club kept the arrangement and swapped the fleurs-de-lis for its initials, keeping the same color palette of blue, white and red.
There was nothing fancy about it. For a brand-new club trying to build local support, municipal pride was the right call.
Early Shield Variations (1957–1976)
Around 1957 the blue frame and letters turned purple, and the lion’s pose was slightly redrawn. From 1965 the frame turned gold, the lion picked up a light outline and the letters were spaced wider.
In 1974 the shield changed more visibly. The interior became mostly red with white and blue stripes on the right, the “L” moved below the “O,” the lion turned gold and a football appeared for the first time.
These were small tweaks, but they added up. The hue shifts and layout changes show a club still settling on its visual identity, which was normal for French football at the time.
The Lion and Key Era (1976–1989)
In 1976 the shield disappeared. A short-lived badge set an outlined “OL” next to a red lion. From 1977, a red rampant lion outlined in gold stood on a black and white football, holding a key-like shape formed by interlocked blue “O” and “L” letters with gold outlines.
It was bold, maybe too bold. The gold outlines made it look busy at small sizes.
Around 1980 the outlines were dropped and the lines cleaned up. The lion stayed red, while the football and the “OL” shape shifted to light purple tones. This version felt less like a coat of arms and more like a sports brand.
The Minimalist OL Badge (1989–1996)
This one is the outlier. The lion disappeared entirely. It arrived in the early years of Jean-Michel Aulas, who took over the club in 1987, and the year the club returned to the top flight, where it has stayed ever since.
The result was a geometric “OL” in white with thick black outlines and a drop shadow, with a red, white and blue chevron running across the letters. No lion, no shield.
Looking back, it was ahead of its time in terms of minimalist design. But football fans tend to want animals, shields and history in a badge. It lasted about seven years.
Return of the Lion (1996–2006)
The lion came back inside a shield. A gold lion sat within a white “O” next to a large white “L” on a blue field, both with gold outlines. A red band along the top held “OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS” in gold capitals.
Around 2000, the lettering in the red band was made wider and bolder, which made the name easier to read at a distance.
This is the version fans link to the start of the dynasty: Lyon won the first of seven straight French titles in 2002. The emphasis shifted back to tradition, and the crest felt regal again.
The 2006 Redesign (2006–2022)
The composition stayed the same, but the intensity went up: darker blue, richer red, a stronger gold outline and solid white letters. The lion’s contours were modernized, and the wordmark on the red band turned white.
This version saw the end of the title run in 2008, the Champions League semi-finals of 2010 and 2020, and the move to the new stadium in 2016. It became the most widely seen version of the crest internationally.
Current Olympique Lyonnais Logo (2022–Present)
The 2022 update was subtle. It appeared on the club’s website and social accounts at midnight on 1 July 2022 and was presented at a press conference that afternoon.
Brighter red and blue replaced the darker tones. The gold outlines around the letters and inner fields were removed, leaving a gold border on the outer edge with a white line inside it. The wordmark moved to a more modern sans-serif. According to Footy Headlines, a source at the club said the aim was to lighten the crest for new media, especially digital.
This was clearly a digital-first update. Print badges can afford complexity. App icons cannot. In 2025, when the women’s team became OL Lyonnes with its own lioness crest, the men’s team kept this logo unchanged.
What Do the Design Elements of the Olympique Lyonnais Logo Mean?
Every part of the Olympique Lyonnais crest ties back to the city of Lyon. The rampant lion is the most important element: it links the club directly to the city’s heraldry, and to the city’s name in popular imagination (Lyon and “lion” sound alike in French).
The shield follows classic European heraldic design and echoes the shape of the city arms.
What Does the Lion Represent?
The lion is taken from Lyon’s coat of arms, where a silver lion stands on its hind legs in the heraldic pose called “rampant”. In heraldry, a rampant lion stands for courage and strength.
The club’s founders took the lion in 1950 to tie the team to the city. It was never meant as just a mascot. It’s a statement of place.
The psychology of shapes matters here too. The lion’s upright, clawing stance creates a feeling of motion and power inside the static shield.
Why Did Olympique Lyonnais Choose These Specific Colors?
The red and blue are the colors of the city of Lyon. They come from the coat of arms (red field, blue chief) and have been on the club’s shirts since the start: until 1961, the white home shirt carried a red and blue V-shaped trim described as the city’s colors. Gold also comes from the arms, where the fleurs-de-lis are gold.
Red, approx. #F70044 sampled from the current logo, carries the club name. From a color psychology standpoint, red reads as energy and excitement, which suits a matchday badge.
Blue, approx. #0F23AA, is the main field of the shield. It grounds the design and provides contrast against the red.
White (#FFFFFF) is used for the “OL” letters, the circle behind the lion and the wordmark, so the initials are the first thing your eye catches.
Gold, approx. #C88C28, fills the lion and frames the shield.
The red, white and blue naturally recall the French flag too, but the club’s own history ties them to the city. In color theory terms, the warm red and gold balance the cool blue.
What Typography Style Is Used in the Olympique Lyonnais Logo?
The 2022 crest uses a clean, geometric sans-serif font in capitals for “OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS”, set on two lines. The club has not publicly named the typeface, so treat any font name you see online as unconfirmed.
Before 2022, the wordmark used a heavier sans-serif. The switch was about readability on small screens. Typography is often an afterthought in football badges, but Lyon’s 2022 update addressed it directly.
The big “O” and “L” inside the crest are custom shapes, not off-the-shelf letters. They are built around the lion and the shield’s proportions. The kerning between them is tight, which keeps the mark compact at smaller sizes.
What Are the Hidden Meanings in the Olympique Lyonnais Logo?
The layout itself is the hidden story. The red band over a blue field reverses the order of the city arms (red field, blue chief), but uses the same colors, and the “OL” sits roughly where the fleurs-de-lis would be.
The lion faces the viewer’s left, the traditional heraldic direction, just as it does in the city’s arms.
The gold, too, is borrowed from the arms. It started as the color of the fleurs-de-lis and became the color of the lion and the frame.
How Does the Olympique Lyonnais Logo Compare to Competitor Logos?
Among French clubs, Lyon’s crest sits between heavy tradition and modern simplification. It’s more classic than Paris Saint-Germain’s logo, which uses circular geometry with the Eiffel Tower, and more polished than some older, busier French crests.
Olympique de Marseille’s logo takes the opposite route: an “OM” monogram with no shield and no animal. Marseille’s crest is open and letter-based. Lyon’s is tighter and more structured.
Saint-Étienne’s logo, belonging to Lyon’s derby rival, is built on green and white. A completely different palette for the fiercest rivalry in French football.
Compared to AS Monaco’s logo, a simple red and white shield with a crown, Lyon’s crest has more visual layers.
Bayern Munich’s logo shares some DNA: strong colors and regional symbolism. But Bayern’s round badge is cleaner. Lyon’s has more moving parts, which can be a strength or a weakness depending on the use.
The broader trend in European football has been toward flat crests that work on screens. Juventus started that conversation with its 2017 “J” logo. Lyon’s 2022 update moved in that direction without going all the way. It cleaned things up but kept the lion, the shield and the initials.
What Are the Olympique Lyonnais Logo Colors?
The Olympique Lyonnais logo colors are red, blue, white and gold. The club has not published official hex, RGB, CMYK or Pantone values, and the codes repeated on logo sites do not match the 2022 crest. These approximate values are sampled from the current logo:
- Red: approx. #F70044
- Blue: approx. #0F23AA
- Gold: approx. #C88C28
- White: #FFFFFF
The lion is the detail that suffers first at small sizes. At a few dozen pixels, only the shape and colors register. For print, work from vector graphics; bitmap files such as PNG and JPEG are fine on the web, as long as the resolution (DPI for print) is high enough to keep the lion sharp.
What Cultural Impact Has the Olympique Lyonnais Logo Had?
The OL crest became a symbol of French football dominance during the club’s seven straight league titles from 2002 to 2008. For a generation of fans, the lion on the blue and red shield meant the best team in the country. No other French club has won seven titles in a row.
In Lyon, the badge is a civic symbol as much as a football one, which makes sense given how closely it copies the city’s own arms.
The women’s team, eight-time European champions, wore the same crest until 2025, when it became OL Lyonnes with a lioness-based logo. The men’s lion and the women’s lioness now sit side by side.
Lyon’s Champions League runs, including the semi-finals of 2010 and 2020, put the crest in front of global audiences.
How Does the Olympique Lyonnais Logo Fit Into the Overall Brand Identity?
The logo sits at the center of the club’s brand system, connecting the men’s team, the Groupama Stadium, the academy and commercial operations under one identity.
Adidas, the club’s kit maker since 2010, builds the crest into jerseys, training gear and retail products.
Any club this size runs on internal brand guidelines that govern how the crest sits next to sponsors, although Lyon’s are not public. On the jersey it sits on the left chest. Online it works as the profile avatar.
The red, blue, white and gold palette runs through the website and matchday materials. Unity across all these touchpoints is what turns a badge into a brand, and the 2022 update cleaned up some inconsistencies from the previous era.
How Should the Olympique Lyonnais Logo Be Used?
This is general advice, not the club’s own rules. The OL crest is the club’s property, and commercial use, such as merchandise or advertising, needs a license.
For editorial use, such as news coverage or commentary, show the current crest accurately:
- Use clean vector or high-resolution files. Scaling a small bitmap up will turn the lion into a blob.
- Don’t stretch, skew, rotate or recolor the crest.
- Don’t add drop shadows, gradients or extra outlines.
- Don’t use an outdated version when you mean the current club.
Fan-made merchandise without a license is the usual trademark problem. Clubs tend to focus enforcement on larger sellers, but if you plan to sell anything with the crest, ask first.
FAQ on the Olympique Lyonnais Logo
What does the Olympique Lyonnais logo look like?
It is a gold-bordered shield. A red band at the top carries “OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS” in white, and the blue field below holds a white “O” with a gold rampant lion next to a large white “L”.
Why is there a lion on the Lyon football crest?
The lion comes from Lyon’s coat of arms, a silver lion on red under a blue band with three gold fleurs-de-lis. The club’s first crest in 1950 copied that layout and replaced the fleurs-de-lis with “OL”.
When was the current Olympique Lyonnais logo introduced?
It was revealed on 1 July 2022 as a lighter update of the 2006 crest, made by a Paris agency the club has not named. Colors got brighter, inner gold outlines were removed and the font was modernized.
What did the old Lyon logo look like?
The 2006–2022 crest had the same layout in darker blue and red, with gold outlines around the letters and fields. Older logos include the 1989–1996 “OL” with a tricolor chevron and no lion, and the 1977–1989 red lion holding an “OL” key on a football.
What colors are in the OL logo?
Red, blue, white and gold. Sampled from the current logo, the red is approx. #F70044, the blue approx. #0F23AA and the gold approx. #C88C28. The club does not publish official codes.
What do the colors of the Lyon logo mean?
Red and blue are the colors of the city of Lyon, taken from its coat of arms, and they have been on the club’s shirts since the 1950s. Gold echoes the fleurs-de-lis of the arms. Together they form a near complementary color scheme of warm and cool.
How many times has the Olympique Lyonnais logo changed?
About a dozen times since 1950. Early versions stuck close to the city arms, the late 1970s dropped the shield, a lion-free “OL” ran from 1989 to 1996, and the lion has been back in a shield since 1996, refined in 2000, 2006 and 2022.
What font does the Olympique Lyonnais badge use?
The club has not named it. The 2022 wordmark is a modern geometric sans-serif in capitals with clean spacing, replacing heavier lettering. The large “O” and “L” are custom shapes built to fit the shield.
Who designed the Olympique Lyonnais logo?
Footy Headlines reported that a Paris agency created the 2022 update, but the agency has not been named. No designer has been publicly credited for the earlier crests either.
Can I use the official OL logo for my project?
Editorial use in news and commentary is generally fine if the crest is shown accurately. Commercial use needs a license from the club. Even for fan projects, follow basic brand style guide sense: no recoloring or distortion.
How does the Lyon logo compare to other French football crests?
It sits between tradition and modern simplification. RC Lens builds on red and gold, Nantes on yellow and green, and Stade Rennais on red and black. Lyon’s lion, shield and initials give it a more classical feel than most.
Did the OL women’s team keep the same logo?
No. In 2025 the women’s team became OL Lyonnes, with a new crest built around a lioness head. The men’s team kept its crest unchanged.
Conclusion
The Olympique Lyonnais logo has held its ground across seven decades of French football. From a direct adaptation of the city arms in 1950 to a screen-ready crest in 2022, it tells the story of a club that respects where it came from while keeping up with how fans see badges today.
The rampant lion, the red and blue shield, the gold accents. These aren’t random choices. They connect OL to Lyon’s civic history and to the club’s run of seven straight league titles.
Few European crests balance the rhythm between old and new this well. The 2022 update showed you can sharpen a badge for screens without losing its character.
Sources
- Footy Headlines, New Olympique Lyon Logo Revealed – https://www.footyheadlines.com/2022/07/new-olympique-lyon-logo-revealed.html
- Wikipedia (FR), Olympique lyonnais – https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympique_lyonnais
- 1000 Logos, Olympique Lyonnais Logo – https://1000logos.net/olympique-lyonnais-logo/
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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